Day 13-Krakow-It's Easter!

Today is our decided day off from doing anything. We are going to just chill out in the hostel and then go for a bit of a stroll through Krakow later. We havent had many opportunities to get the camera out here yet. We will then go for a meal, maybe to the Hard Rock Cafe that Ben won't stop talking about, very alternative. We have invited our hostel mate Leah along too as she is on her own until Tuesday when her brother, Ben, arrives. 

Last night we had another cracking night in Krakow. We even managed to drag Leah along. First we watched the Stoke game in our local. Annoying about the result and I still don't know if our disallowed goal should have stood. We talked to the couple from Essex once again, Jimmy and Karen. We even got invited to their remarriage! The drinks were already flowing and it was only about 10 before we left. We then got THE most amazing burger I have ever had. It was from a place called Mao burger and it was so tasty. We then wanted to go clubbing kind of but it was a bit early so we went to a cheap bar instead. It was 1 quid a pint! 1 quid shot! And if your night had really sucked you could get a cuppa for the same price too! We had a couple of shots there and then changed locations so I could find a disaranno and coke. We found a suitable bar but they didn't have disaranno still. So we had jaeger bombs and slow drank them instead. Very tasty! At this point we decided to call it a day. We were all pretty sleepy and we didn't want to blow our budgets on drink. However, with these prices that would be difficult. 

Have a cracking Easter! Save us some chocolate? Hopefully we will have some cool photos of Krakow tonight for you. 

Ben and Myles x

Day 12-Krakow-Wet wet wet

Yesterday was a short day of travel from Warsaw to Krakow, only three hours but when we arrived in Krakow we were still tired. On arrival in our hostel we checked in and then went to our room. The hostel is probably the worst quality we've been too but it is still definitely worth the 5 euros a night we pay. In our room we have met a nice girl from Manchester called Leah. This will probably excite my Dad more than it should do. We have finally met someone that is easy to talk to!

After resting for a bit we went into Krakow in search of a place to watch the Stoke game on Sunday. We found a pub that was full of English people and the championship was on. The people inside were really nice and chatty. They even bought us some drinks. It was probably the best night of our trip so far. We will probably go back to it tonight. 

We are now getting ready to go to a water park for the day. Don't worry I'm going to be extra careful with my arm. 

Hopefully we will update again tonight. 

Ben and Myles x

Day 10-Warsaw-Krakow here we come

Last night we went out for yet another meal, at the horrific price of £8 each, really stretching our wallets. After Poland everything will seem so over priced, especially when we reach Paris. 

Only 5 more days till Chris gets here and I know he's going to persuade us to go clubbing most nights spending all that money we've managed to save up, not that we're complaining. It should be good to have another person with us, so we can take pictures with two of us in, and feel less out of place, with everyone around us speaking gibberish!

Today is another travelling day, that I'll probably spend most of the time sleeping, which is strange as I never normally sleep that much at home. Ben will be our acting watchman for the bags again as he can't sleep on the trains, poor guy. Hopefully I'll beat Ben at squares this time, as he seems to win everything. Krakow should be interesting as apparently everything is closed during the Easter weekend. Till the next time,

Ben&Myles x

Day 10-Warsaw-Last day in wonderful Warsaw

Another ace day in Warsaw. After getting up we went for a walk to find a supermarket to buy lunch. We quickly found somewhere and got a decent meal for us both for less than 5 euros. Myles then found out the sad news that his pet turtle Rudy passed away. This put a downer on his day really. We then got a taxi to the zoo. We were wary of the taxi driver ripping us off but we don't think he did. It cost us 5 euros to get to the zoo which is actually a very good price, considering this is a capital city.

At first we thought the animals were all going to be in there shelters as the first two were no where to be seen, then a grizzly bear appeared, plodding around it looked abit like my old dog Taz. Later on we saw the monkeys which were leaping around their cages chasing each other trying to steal one another's bananas, which was hilarious to watch. After the monkeys we arrived at the gorillas enclosure, which was pretty exciting, on the door it had a sign saying no flash so Ben turned this off on his camera forgetting that it still had a small light on it. Out of excitement he quickly aimed the camera at the gorilla and snapped a picture. The gorilla didn't like this one bit and he jumped up and threw itself at Ben teeth drawn, smashing itself against the glass. Ben was very scared after this. 

There were lots of other animals around the zoo that are worth mentioning but if we're to go through all of them you would be reading all night. Other highlights included the lions and the hippos. After the zoo we got another taxi to the Warsaw Uprising museum. It was interesting but there was so much text to take in. It might have been a bit much, considering how tired we always seem to be in the afternoons. We are going out for another meal as a good bye to Warsaw and then we take the train at about 1 o clock tomorrow afternoon to Krakow. I see things might be warming up just a tad in England. It's still really cold here but we will survive. 

 

Ben and Myles x

Day 9-Warsaw-cracking day

Wow what a day. After the Copernicus centre we walked to the palace of Warsaw. This was slightly underwhelming but still worth it. Then we trekked back through the city to the Marriott Hotel. This is probably the biggest place in town and there was a bar at the top. We wanted to go up there but we were horribly under dressed. We still tried and the management said we were allowed this one time. We arrived on happy hour and had a nice pint on the tip for only 3 euros. 

After this we retired to the hostel. We planned our activities in Krakow and had a couple more beers. We always seem to be shattered by the end of the day. Hope you are all well. Only a week until Chris comes and apps a new dimension to our month in Europe. 

 

 

Ben and Myles x

Day 9-Warsaw-Ben and Myles and the Philosophers Stone

We've just left the Copernicus Science Centre four hours after arriving it was really interesting and probably a highlight of the trip so far, apart from the herds of screaming children pushing and shoving for everything. It was very interactive, a bit like one of those science lessons where there is an experiment at the front of the room and you're able to do a practical and no listening or writing! 

There was a planetarium as well but it was closed off so we assumed you had to buy tickets but didn't know where so passed on that one. For the price of 4 euros each to get into the centre, it was definitely worth the money. 

The highlight for me wa the green screen where you could make a film whilst changing the background behind you. There was also a green cape so it looks like I was Harry Potter with my invisibility cloak. The video should be sent to my email!

We're now tucking into some delicious chicken at a southern fried chicken restaurant, we'll keep you posted.

Ben&Myles x 

Day 8-Warsaw-Poland has gone football crazy!

Currently sitting in a funky Thai restaurant after looking for a nice(but cheap) place to eat in Warsaw. We have both ordered the exact same meal. After this we are going to look for a bar showing the Poland vs San Marino game and cheer on the Poles! 

During the day we went on a free walking tour around the old town which was very interesting. Warsaw has had a war ridden history. After this we explored the famous sights of Warsaw. There is a massive road that has loads of monument an interesting buildings all the way along it with a pine tree at the end. Slightly odd to see in sub zero temperatures. We then made our way to the Palace of Technology and Culture where we could go to the top. We did. We were quite disappointed though. It was a bit run down and didn't seem that touristy. It was cool to see Warsaw from up there. 

Today we are off to a science museum and to check out the national football stadium. Hope you're all still well. 

Ben and Myles x 

P.s sorry this post is quite rushed but we need to get out into Warsaw!

Day 7-Berlin/Warsaw- Fellowship of the Train

Today we started quite late as our train was at half one. We ambled through Berlin to the station. Today we managed to avoid beggars but I did manage to piss off a Sausage merchant when I asked for pommes(chips). I don't know if it was my attempt at German or the fact that I had an English accent that maddened him but there was definitely something. 

As we spent another 6 hours riding the train it wasn't a very eventful day, however our train was suited out like we were going to Hogwarts with loads of private compartments. We were beginning to think none of the Poles spoke English until Ben was getting ready to get off.  He was grabbed by a mysterious OAP "slow down, not this stop". For our whole journey this man hadn't said a word, he was like Strider in the tavern, saving the hobbits from grave danger.

On arrival in Warsaw we didn't have a clue where we were going. It was dark and we were on our own in a completely new place. Warsaw was completely different to what we expected. There is some amazing architecture and many shops from England. I looked for a jumper but decided it wasn't needed as things aren't too bad on the temperature front. There was even a TK Max for those Chris Strickland's out there!  We found some computers and with the help of a lovely Pole we discovered the way to the hostel. Checking in to our Hostel we ran into  a student from Sheffield uni who was with a group of others hitch hiking across Europe. We saw people wearing the same hoody he was, in Lille. They have come a long way! 

After putting our bags away we hit the town. We went to a local pizzeria and had a meal. This was the first time Myles has won a game all week, the eating game. I couldn't finish the pizza while Myles smashed through. I'm the one without the beer belly though. It is very cheap here. We paid only about £20 on a starter, pizza and two jugs of Polish beer. We have decided we are moving to Warsaw when we are older.  

 

Hope your Monday wasn't too bad without us!

Ben and Myles x

Day 6- Berlin-Our local is the best place in the world

First off we had another delicious curry wurst. We hoped we could go straight into our local but it was packed to the brim. We then searched for another watering hole but none were to be found except for a dodgy looking shisha bar. We came back to the local after searching for about 15 minutes and there was a table free. Result! The bar was packed with young French school children. It had a great atmosphere! One of the French teachers mistook us for pupils when we bought our second pints. We really do look quite young! After this kefuffle they left and the bar was empty except for Myles and I. The atmosphere wasn't the same but we got down to some cracking games of pool. 

Tomorrow we leave for Warsaw at half one hopefully. We will get to Poland at about 6 so we might be able to go for a drink when we arrive but not much else. Hopefully we can catch the Brazil v Russia game but we aren't too hopeful. Good night chaps!

 

Ben and Myles x

Day 6-Berlin- Uprising of the beggars

Today it took us quite a whole to get out of bed but we still managed to get out of the hostel by 10. We had a very jam packed day of seeing the sights in Berlin. First stop was Checkpoint Charlie. There were so many tourists around so we didn't say for long. They were also charging 2 euros for a photo with a fake American soldier. We didn't oblige. We were then ambushed by a begger but we had a lucky escape with our pockets still intact.  We did get some nice photos of us in front of a piece of the Berlin Wall though...

After this we walked past a section of the Berlin Wall and opposite was a free museum, of course we went inside, seeing as it was free. It was very factual and we learned about the Gestapo and the SS, it was shocking to see that a man who had been charged with 55000 murders was only sent to prison for 9 years. Some of the pictures were disturbing, seeing someone laughing whilst killing innocent people just seemed a bit surreal. Moving on... 

On our way to the Jewish memorial and the Brandenburg gate we passed through Potzdamer Platz. This was alright with some cool architecture but apart from that it seemed a bit over hyped. At the Jewish memorial Myles and I looked at it for a bit, but then went through it losing each other on purpose many times. 

At the Brandenburg gate we did the touristy thing and took a few photos but other than that, again, there wasn't much going on. It was worth the visit though. Neither Myles or I had the guts to go up to someone and ask if they'd take a photo of us. I gathered up the courage to say excuse me to someone but they ignored me. We did manage to get a photo of us together by using the self timer on my camera and sprinting into position but other than that it is proving quite difficult to get photos together. Another annoyance is that we can't get the photos from my proper camera onto the blog yet. There is a plethora of cracking photos! 

After this Ben decided he was once again hungry, and I had no money left so we began the search for a maccy ds, a suggestion from Poppy and a cash point, you'd be surprised but there are no cash points in Berlin. After an intensive look, we found a maccy ds, but no cash point, so lunch was on Ben! I had just finished my big tasty bacon and started tucking into my fries when a beggar approached harassing me for some pommes Ben managed to shoe her away by shaking his head and saying nein. Shortly after she weaselled herself a cheeseburger off an Italian couple and was told to leave by an employee. 
 

Next on our long list of destinations was a massive tower, seemed very similar to the Shard in London and we didn't think 12 euros each was that bad so we decided to trek over too it. On the way we walked into a couple of girls who were asking for signatures for what looked like a petition. We signed naively but then noticed the last column said money donated. I wrote 0 euros and dropped the pen back in the girls hands as she wouldn't take it. I then said no and said I didn't have any money. Myles, however, decided that it was a good idea to get his wallet out and show them the 10 pound note in his wallet. Luckily he managed to snatch his wallet back into his pocket before they could take that. He did then take the small change out of his pocket and they managed to grab that from him. I then told Myles off of course and we had a good chat about how we can ignore anything like that happening again. Berlin seems to be beggar ridden. 

We got to the tower but the queue to get in was 3 hours apparently so we abruptly left the over packed establishment. We then decided to go to the Berlin cathedral. This was actually really good and definitely worth the 4 euros we paid to get in. There were many good photo opportunities. 

 

 

 We thought these next three fellas looked like they were posing for their Facebook profile pictures... 

 Our final trip of the day was visiting the victory column which was basically the cheap alternative for the tv tower without a lift, I honestly thought those stairs would never end. We didn't spend too long on top of the victory column as it felt like it was going to fall. However, we got some nice photos and the views were amazing. That pretty much sums up our day for now.  We're off to town now for a curry wurst and a couple of cheeky ones at our local. Stay frosty!

Ben & Myles x

 
 

Day 5-Berlin-An eventful train journey

Our fifth day started with breakfast and checking out of the hostel. We then got the 10:34 train to Berlin, arriving at 17:20. We then got the bus to the hostel, we of course missed the stop we were supposed to get off at which meant a bit of a walk but we got there in the end, on the bus we encountered a group of drunk Rastafarians which wasn't a great first experience of Berlin; as well as the ton of graffiti that is around. It's a very nice hostel. Our room is shared with two girls from Madrid university who are nice enough, maybe a bit shy. We then went out into a local area looking for a kebab however the queue was huge, so we ate a curry wurst which was actually really tasty. 

 

Of course after this we went to a bar and had a few German beers! Very nice! (We're writing this whilst having those beers)

The train journey to Berlin was actually quite eventful. On the way we saw loads of deer and some kind of cow, we think they are yaks (big black cows with horns, the type LBC would go for). There were also hundreds of wind turbines, which was very different to the trains in old Britain.  

 

We stopped at a station and a train passed the other way with over 100 tanks and humvees on. Our theory was either Europe declared war on England or there was a Godzilla like creature making its way towards the red light district, in need of girls and a lot of cannabis. We were happy we had left Amsterdam when we did. 

 

The next incident to occur on this infamous train journey was the Polizei walking on when we entered Deutschland (the station was Bad Bentheim, in fact Ben was having a very good time, HA HA HA)! They stormed on and cornered an innocent Argentinian, held him at gun point, demanding for his passport and the reasoning behind his trip to Germany. After checking through his passport and making sure everything was legit they marched on and left the carriage in silence, not a word spoken to the poor chap. Before this rude interruption Ben and I were playing a cracking game of 'Guess the fLavour of the jelly bean'. We were actually very good. Ben was better. The last time Ben played this Chloe gave him a dirt flavoured jelly bean. He guessed right of course. Other than these events the train journey was quite dull. It was all on one train, the landscape was interesting at times but we were listening to our iPods most of the journey, and taking it in turns with sleeping, to protect our bags from local hooligans. It is very cold in Berlin. Slightly colder than Amsterdam and there is quite thick snow everywhere. Tomorrow I need to buy a thicker jumper and Myles needs to buy a new pair of gloves. He did have a pair of gloves, but of course he has lost them. Our Myles, ay? 

Sorry about the posts going up late. There are technical difficulties with the app I am using. We will try to sort it out so the blog posts go up at the right time but I can't guarantee anything. Have an absolutely cracking Sunday anyway. 

Ben and Myles x

Day 3

We did make a post about yesterday already but it hasn't posted properly. I will try to upload it when we get back to the hostel and I get wifi for my phone.

Day 4- Amsterdam- Meeting Lucy and Heinieken

You guys are probably wondering why our blogging has stopped a bit. It's because we're struggling to find wifi anywhere, we've now met up with our good friend Lucy (lucyslocations.blogspot.co.uk) who most of you will know, hence why we now have wifi. Amsterdam defeated us yesterday as we were very tired so we went back to the boat to recover and were raring to go today. We've been to the sex museum which was another strange experience and will soon be visiting the Heineken experience (sorry Thomas) if we can actually find it. Every time we go through the red light district I still cant get over how obvious it is, but I suppose these things are legal here. One of the women knocked on her window at us and then when we walked past stuck her two fingers up at Ben, which was quite amusing. 

We have now spent a couple of hours with Lucy in the warm organizing the next leg of the trip in Berlin. This time we know what trains we need to get properly and the way to the hostel. The hostel in Berlin has won the 'Hoscar' for best hostel in Germany so it should be a nice play to stay. 

Tonight we kind of want to watch the World Cup qualifier so we might go looking for a place to watch that or just go for a couple of drinks somewhere else. Yesterday we found a bar where we got a pint for the bargain price of 6 euros. We only had one each. Anyway, we should get back to taking in the Amsterdam atmosphere.

Ben & Myles x

Day 2-Ieper-Myles has already ruined 2 pairs of trousers

Today we walked around Ypres all day. We walked along the city wall and marvelled at the wildlife in the moat and the random goats knocking about. We then had a hot chocolate in a cafe. We expected big things because of the famed Belgian chocolate but it wasn't brilliant and Myles spilt it all down his trousers. Yesterday he opened a beer and it exploded all over his jeans. Two days, two pairs of trousers down. 

We then had lunch that was supplied by Thomas. After this we went to a great museum about life during World War 1 and conditions in the trenches. Lots of school children making lots of noise. 

We walked around Ypres for a while longer before stopping off in a bar for some bevvies. 

During our walk around the wall we came upon the Menin gate. The number of names on the walls was staggering. We then saw the Last Post at 8 o clock which was very moving. 

After this we came back to Thomas'  where we have played board games and drunk Belgian beer. I have won every game we have played so Myles and Thomas have given up now. Tomorrow we set off for Amsterdam. We had problems finding a hostel at first but now we are staying on a boat. Should be good. 

I guess I will try to update again tomorrow. I hope you're not missing us too much yet! 

 

Ben and Myles x 
 

New day in Ieper

We are up and ready to face the day in Ieper. Well I am. Thomas loved the Colmans. He hasn't done anything with it yet. Thomas made us dinner, gave us breakfast and we have made our lunch with his things. We are feeling very spoilt. 

We are about to head out into Ieper to see the Menin gate and maybe go for a bike ride around some grave yards. Today could be quite a somber day. 

I say we are ready to face the day but I'm actually lying. Myles is taking his sweet time as I expected. 

Ben and Myles x

Arrived in Ieper

Waiting for half an hour at our meeting point for Thomas we began to have doubts that he wasn't coming, we discovered it was because of the immense amount of traffic and we thought England was bad. We've just arrived at Thomas' house and have been welcomed by a vast selection of beer, might get a bit messy. Thomas is a really nice guy. We have found that we all love Shikari!

Lille wasn't great to be honest but we got a few good pictures.

 

 

 

 I also lit a candle for Matthew in the church in Lille. Better go now we have dinner and beer to drink. 

Ben and Myles x